The NBA playoffs got off to an absolute awesome start this weekend. It was so nice to see the teams playing, playing hard, in front of fans and going all out. I watched so much basketball this weekend, and I was never bored. Not once. I am so amped for the rest of the playoffs, and I hope the majority of the games will be like these openers.

With that said, I do have some thoughts about each team we watched. The weekend started for me watching the Heat and the Bucks. Man oh man was this an opener to end all openers. This game was back and forth, was up and down, gritty and grimy and just how I envision this whole series to be. And the game was won on a near buzzer beater from Khris Middleton in overtime. The Bucks got a much needed win that will help boost their confidence going forward. That being said, the Heat did not play great, and they still had a chance at the end. Jimmy Butler came up big when they needed him too, but they just could not pull out the game. But this series is going to be tough, and one hell of a fun watch for fans of old school NBA.

The Mavericks and Clippers followed, and this game was the polar opposite. The Mavericks came out on fire, and for as much flak as I give Luka Doncic, and I do still think he is overrated, he led this team to a road win. The Mavs hit the three, they made free throws, they got clutch points, they did what they needed to win. The Clippers look disinterested, outside of Kawhi, they could not stop Luka, they took some of the worst fouls late in the shot clock, and they had better wake up if they want to recover from their collapse last season. They did not look good at all, and if Luka and the rest of the Mavs keep this up, they will oust the Clippers pretty easily. This is who the Clippers wanted, but man did they look so tired and bored during that game. Time to start playing defense LA.

Then we got to see the Big 3 of the Nets perform to the top of their abilities. KD was hitting mid range shots, Harden was drawing fouls, getting to the hoop and making nice floating alley oop passes and Kyrie, I mean look no further than what he did to Evan Fournier when he dropped him on a crossover. If the Nets top guys play like this, it is a wrap. The Celtics did hold a lead for two and a half quarters, Jayson Tatum did make some shots, Marcus Smart was all over the floor, but they just do not have enough to stop this Nets team. They are too loaded.

Saturday night ended with Damian Lillard doing his thing, quietly as always, and leading the Blazers to a big game one win at Denver. Portland let Nikola Jokic eat, but they did their best to shut everyone else down, and it worked. Jokic was great, but the rest of the Nuggets just could not keep up. Dame was awesome, Jusuf Nurkic and Enes Kanter kept bodying Jokic, Aaron Gordon had a rough game one and CJ McCollum did his thing. I feel like, after this game, that I am one of the many people that are constantly sleeping on Portland. I'm fully on board with them now, and what else can be said about Dame. He is amazing. Portland may very well win this series going away.

I did not think Sunday was going to be as fun. I was wrong. We got the day started off with the 76ers and Wizards, and the Wizards clearly came to play. They were running up and down the floor, they held a lead, Russ and Beal were doing great, then Joel Embiid just took over. Sure, Tobias Harris had a great, great game, and when Ben Simmons needed to play lockdown defense he totally did. But when this team needed to be sparked, after Beal openly mocked Embiid, he came alive. He could not be stopped. He is the MVP. He is unstoppable.

The Suns then beat the Lakers, and they looked like the better team. I will not buy into the Suns being the favorites in this series now because the Lakers lost two game 1's last season, then went on to win four in a row. But this Suns team is much better than last year's Trailblazers and Rockets. They are more complete. Devin Booker is coming of age in the league. Deandre Ayton played like a legit big man. And Chris Paul was classic Chris Paul. Maybe, just maybe, the Suns are going to make this a real series. The Lakers just looked very blah. LeBron had a not great game, and his flopping has got to stop. It is getting out of hand. Anthony Davis was even worse. Maybe he really is hurt because he looks so bad right now. And when Alex Caruso is your most reliable scorer, that is when you have real problems. I am not jumping to any conclusions because the Lakers have two of the best players in the league, but man did they bad. They looked worse than the Clippers, and the Suns took advantage.

I turned on the Knicks-Hawks game in the middle of the fourth quarter, and that game was amazing. Buckets were exchanged. Leads were changed constantly. The crowd, the biggest indoor crowd since the pandemic started, was heavily involved. And Trae Young made sure we all will take him seriously now. This was the game of the weekend. This was what makes the NBA playoffs the best. This was awesome. I know New York fans are upset right now, but come on, this was an amazing game. I hope the rest of the series plays like this. As for Atlanta, what an offensive performance. They looked so ready for the moment and ready for the playoffs. They may not get much further in this series or playoffs, but they are now here to stay. They are a perennial playoff team as currently constructed.

Sunday night ended with my Memphis Grizzlies getting a big time road win over the top seeded Jazz. Dillon Brooks was tremendous on both ends of the floor. Ja did his thing. The bench and other role players were perfect. I am sure this is still some adrenaline from the final play in game, but I also think this team is not afraid of the moment. They may be young, but they appear ready. And hell yes I would take Ja over all the other players in his draft, and some in other drafts. He is that dude. The Jazz did not have Donovan Mitchell, and they crushed them. The pick and roll wasn't there. Joe Ingles, Bogdanovic and Jordan Clarkson were not making shots. Rudy Gobert fouled out. Everything went right for the Grizzlies, and everything went wrong for Utah. I hope this trend continues. I hope RD was some kind of oracle when he said they may make a run. I am not going to get ahead of myself as a fan, but damn was it fun to see them get this win. They are ready.

The NBA playoffs are here, and they are incredible. I hope this opening weekend was just a sign of things to come. This is what I love about the NBA. The playoffs are back, and they are amazing.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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